Is it true that in order to have a Democracy, there must be a Middle Class?

Question

And if you agree,
How can we ensure that the middle class is strong and constant?

jacob: you are contradicting yourself,

Capitalist and Democratic are not synonomous,

hate to break it to ya.

Answer 1

there is a strong middle class in the USA, economy is strong and people are working.

Answer 2

I do not see what one has to do with the other. The middle class is the product of capitalism, plain and simple. In China there never was a middle class. Now one is emerging due to the relaxation of socialist values (or lack thereof) and the government allowing some capitalist reforms. China still is not a democratic country.

America has an enormous middle class because it has always been capitalist. If, say, many of the reforms the democrats want to put into place shifting ownership out of the private sector and into government control, such as health care and energy, there will be a shrinking of the middle class. The more Washington controls the less control goes to the States and the people respectively. The less power people control the poorer they become. It is simply that simple.


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Answer 3

Democracy is a form of government, it is not an economic form or theory.
The "Middle Class" is a subset in an economic group.
Middle class is not a defined term, it can mean anything depending on you stance. What passes for middle class in the US can mean very wealthy in Sri Lanka.
You can have a democracy anywhere, it only means that you vote for the leader of a group.
To skip to the last part of your question, "How can we ensure that the middle class is strong and constant?"
By removing the economic pressure that surrounds the middle class, ie; easing the way to home ownership, removing the financial burden of health care.
2 places I would start.
But in the end, I think what you are asking is, can US Democracy succeed and continue if there is no American middle class?
And to that there is no good answer.
Things will change, there is no stopping it, will the numbers of the middle class grow and contract, yes.
And will our government change along with the economic realities, of course.

Answer 4

No, Middle Class to me is just another way to rate the income and security of a particular group. There is upper, upper middle, middle, lower middle, & lower classes. The classes determine who has to take out loans and the lower the class the higher the interest rate. Wait! Maybe you've got something there!? It's just sad that more isn't done by the upper class to help the lower class, not a hand out but a hand up! =)

Answer 5

no not at all. democracy was first promoted by slave owning nobility of ancient greece.

as for ensuring the middle class is strong, get rid of the bush family involvement in american government. bush senior is all about destroying the middle class.

Answer 6

no, democracy is not dependent on a middle class...democracy simply means the people have a voice in their government. the word democracy means 'self rule' and this country is a representative republic that uses the democratic process to elect its leaders.
and, to answer your question, you can never ensure anything...

Answer 7

Well yeah.
Middle Class is the highest paying tax contribute.

Answer 8

a democracy is suppose to reflect the welfare of every person in society... rich, poor and middle class... by eliminating or emphasizing the importance of one over the others it weakens the whole.

Answer 9

Yes, I would think so.

Keep inflation in check.